Timelines in design: Where linguistics meets design history

This paper will describe the design of Timelines – a pilot six-week, two-hour course to introduce International postgraduate students to the stylistic and cultural influences that enrich western graphic design. It is designed to promote confidence and dialogue through a series of language learning activities. Students who may not speak English as a first language can experience a very different design culture to the one they are used to as they begin their postgraduate education at the University for the Creative Arts. The aim of Timelines is to equip students with the right learning and cultural toolkit to help them to navigate through the first few weeks of their postgraduate course and help them to understand and contextualise the references they will encounter. Students will also improve English language skills and critical knowledge so they are able to take a more active part in class dialogue and discussions. By the end of the six-week course, students should also be able to formulate their own design discourses with confidence